The weekend just gone was a homely one (it's what happens when you get married and spend your weekends in garden centres). As well as lots of pottering, tidying and general domestic goddess duties, I also made my own yoghurt.

Yes really.

And it got me thinking about how wonderful this stuff is.

Yoghurty goodness

For those who've never tried this manna, yoghurt is a form of curdled milk (like sour cream or creme fraiche) but with a lot less fat. Skimmed milk contains only 0.1% fat whilst semi-skimmed milk has 1.6% fat, so if you make your yoghurt out of this type of low fat milk, the yoghurt will also be low fat. 

So why is milk and milk products so important in the diet?

Milk, yoghurt and dairy products are important because they contain the best source of easily absorbable calcium. Other sources include fish with edible bones (salmon, sardines etc), legumes, calcium fortified soy products (like tofu) and fortified breakfast cereals. Calcium is important to helping keep your bones strong and healthy. As we get older, we lose bone mass it's crucial to our bodies and bones that we get enough calcium. After menopause, women are particularly prone to bone thinning (osteoporosis) so ladies, make sure you're getting enough of the white stuff.

Why else is yoghurt so good?

Yoghurt is also rich in calcium, protein, riboflavin, vitamin B12 and B6 (all good stuff) and some yoghurt contains living bacteria which is good news for a happy tummy.

Apart from the nutritional benefits, yoghurt is amazing because there are so many different types out there and you can make so much stuff with it.

Our thickies - which you can find in some lovely cafes across Ireland - are a great example. Youghurt is the main ingredient in our thickies and tastes lovely in other yoghurty drinks, like lassi. Lassi is a traditional Indian yoghurt drink that originated in the Punjab region of India and tastes great with mangoes or just on it's own. I made litres of the stuff last weekend with my homemade yoghurt (much to the delight of my Punjabi hubby) and can't wait to try the mango and cardamom thickie from our first recipe book this weekend.

If you fancy making it at home yourself too, here's the recipe

Mango and cardamom thickie

Ingredients

2 large apples

1 medium sized mango (Alphonso are the best)

3 tbsp of bio yoghurt

1 tsp of clear runny honey

1 cardamom pod

What you need to do

1. Cut the apples into wedges, get rid of the bits you don't usually eat and juice them up.

2. Peel the mango and slice into the blender.

3. Pour in the apple juice, yoghurt and honey.

4. Crush the cardamom pod with the back of a spoon and remove the seeds.

5. Discard the pod, crush the seeds in the same way and add them to the blender.

6. Whizz all ingredients until smooth. Pour into your favourite glass and enjoy.

(If you don't have time to juice the apples, you can use 100ml of bottled, freshly pressed apple juice instead).

As ever, don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.

Bye for now,

Dr Shilps